Legislative Blog
J.B. Williams, J.D.
Funding to Promote Democracy
A Blog about Freedom to Vote 2021
A Bit of Background
The following backgrounds help summarize the author's views on both the general topic: Federal and more specifically Freedom to Vote 2021 as it relates to that topic.
Brief Summary of Federal
This should be a fairly limited bills area for management the overall structures like highways, military, federal buildings, federal laws, and the like. However it has become the micro manager of all micro managers. They get involved in areas that no federal government should be involved in, and shift more power upward. This has led to each party trying to run over the other party in the eyes of the voters, all the while doing everything possible to maintain their power. They do this by holding onto all of the money, and claiming they know best how it should be spent. But they run debts so badly that no one should be looking to them as an example of anything other than the way to overspend and go further into debt.
Summary of Freedom to Vote 2021
John R. Lewis Act. While I understand the Federal Government's duty to ensure that it's citizen can vote freely, the extensive rules being proposed will force one of two actions. Either the state will 100% follow the federal guidelines and have none of their own, possibly to the detriment of it's citizens. Or the state will have one set of rules for federal voting and another set of rules for state voting. There by creating issues of federal funding to a state and/or confusion from it's citizens regarding rules for voting.
Blog Summary
Creating a Democracy Advancement and Innovation Program. This will send money to states to spend every year to upgrade voting systems. A trust fund that supplies money to states annually. All the funds will be gifts or bequests. Then whomever has appointed the first of the oversight board gets to control to whom this goes in the future.
Funding to Promote Democracy
Published: 2021-12-22
Citizen Empowerment - Title VIII
Funding to Promote Democracy - Subtitle A
They want to create a program called Democary Advancement and Innovation Program. Each fiscal year allocations shall be made to states to carry out democratic activities. These would include improvements to voting systems, securing voting locations, expanding polling places, early voting, recruting and training non-partisan election officials, and promoting cybersecurity. Wanting to increase access to voting in elections for Federal office by underserved communities, individuals with disabilities, racial and language minority groups, individuals entitled to vote by absentee ballot, and voters in Indian lands. States can maintain money from one fiscal year to use in another. The plan for use of the funds must be submitted to the federal government, and the money is received if it were approved.
They are establishing a trust fund to be known as State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund. Gifts or bequests may be deposited into the trust fund. No taxpayer funds, those received by the IRS from tax liabiities, may not be deposited in the fund. They are establish a percent fine for any guilty finding in criminal cases. There are additional penalties that can be incurred but there are exemptions for some individuals.
Elections for House of Representatives - Subtitle B
Government by the People Act of 2021. They want to establish a credit program with states. The states must ensure they are going to run the program throughout the entire election. The aggregate amount to any state over 2 election cycles may not excee $10 million.
Voting Rights - Division D or Title IX
John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 - new act title
Establishes a violation if members of a set class have less opportunity than others to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. It does say that members of a protected class are not enttiled to have an equal number of elected members as their proportion in that population. So if members of the protected class face disproportionate costs or burders and if such causes for these increased costs can be linked to social and historical conditions, then it could be a violation. They can look at the history of voting discimination in the state or subdivision. The extent of racial polarization. If a protected class bears effects of discrimination in education, employment, and health. The use of overt racial appeals in political campaigns. They do look at the extent the protected class has been elected.
They may not use the fact that the protected class has a set number of or share of members that are not materially burdened. The use of similar data that is being used elsewhere. The availability of other voting forms unimpacted by the challenges. So it seems that if the protected class has 50% that are not impacted by some material burden that would not matter to any claims to mitigate the effect. Nor would the fact that another community used the same criteria and there are no shown burdens there. Seems that once there is a claimed burden there may not be any means of defending against the claim.
I do have tracking for this act enabled, so if it begins movement again I should receive an email.
Webpage created by and for J.B. Williams, J.D. - all rights reserved